Shin Yong Jae: Daily Ode
Chapter II is pleased to announce ‘Daily Ode’, a solo exhibition of works by Yong Jae Shin (b.1985), from 6th February to 21st March in Yeonnam-dong, Seoul. The exhibition will provide a great opportunity to discover new outcomes produced during the Chapter II Residency by the artist who consistently records diverse shifts of the whole space surrounding the surface of the ground defined as ‘the sky’, by considering them as an external indicator of his own psychological states.
The sky is one of the common sacred symbols in a large number of countries, as it simply has to be looked up at due to its physical position which is unreachable and furthermore, it evokes a sense of awe and corresponding fear by being understood as a mystic realm where seasons and days change depending on the emergence and disappearance of the sun which has a critical influence upon the presence and absence of light.
The practice of Yong Jae Shin is a series of documenting pictures capturing visual features of the sky, a natural field above the horizon which can not be easily interfered. Instead of taking an exclusive perspective alienating this particular sphere detached from the human world, Shin establishes intangible layers which exist only in his own mind by gathering his mundane events, emotions and attitudes of every day on the foundation of sky landscapes, one of iconic subjects of fine art in a general context.
Although representing sky sceneries can be seen banal and conventional, Shin allows each painting to gain an individual authenticity by applying his contemplation of ordinary life related to specific time and place over the scenes. Thus, the broad spectrum of weather alterations can be interpreted as not only his emotional changes of each day, but reflections of which the artist embodies what he encounters through an action of painting. The principal agent of this identification is ‘the sky’ - an independent entity, however, the artist gains his authority as an organizer by selecting specific sections from overall sky sceneries and revealing his subjective interpretation and expression of released natural colors.
All-over technique is a dominant approach appearing throughout his entire practice. It originated from the style of Impressionists who preferred painting outdoors, since they needed to quickly convert a target’s shape constantly changed by the given weather or sunlight and subtle shimmers in its background into dramatic sequences rather than focusing on the target itself. In terms of composition, being uninterested in describing and emphasizing certain parts enables him to deal with every section of his paintings with an equivalent importance. In addition, Shin attempts to increase a sense of flatness by connecting the identical-sized pieces of paintings. It is intriguing that he treats sky landscapes as separate units and juxtaposes them, creating a particular ambience as though his paintings were a ‘collection’ of days repeating at equidistant intervals.
Yong Jae Shin (b.1985), one of selected residents of the 2nd Chapter II Residency, had his solo exhibitions at Gallery Art Flora and Cheongju Creative Art Studio. He also attended several group exhibitions at various institutions including Cultural Station Seoul 284, Ansan Arts Center, Gallery Yian, Chapter II and Seongnam Cube Art Museum.
